Wolfsbane
by hippielicious
Summary: Remus Lupin suffers more than one repercussion after a one night stand during his seventh year at Hogwarts.
1. Chapter 1

"What do you think of Edith Hopper?" Peter asked the Marauders out of the blue as they relaxed in their quarters. What none of them noticed was Remus tense as he feigned reading his book throughout the conversation.

"Don't tell me you're interested in Edith Hopper," Sirius complained.

"Why not?"

"Well, first of all, she isn't exactly a looker." James put in his two cents. Remus felt his face grow hot with embarrassment and anger, relieved he had a book to hide behind.

"Yes, but…" Peter made a gesture to imitate fondling breasts, since Edith was well endowed in that area.

"Fair point," Sirius allowed. "She does have great knockers." Remus' grip on his book tightened even further – much tighter and he might break the cover.

"And she isn't much taller than me," Peter added.

"Also a fair point," James mused. "Maybe you ought to take a crack at her. She definitely isn't out of your league." Remus disagreed; he believed Edith Hopper was well out of Peter's league – especially intellectually. But of course, he was too shy to tell them he fancied her immensely.

So of course, the following evening, when Peter returned to their quarters, he hung on his friend's every word – slightly pleased his friend looked defeated because it meant Peter was probably rejected. "I can't believe she said no," the short boy whined. "I even went in thinking I wouldn't take no for an answer, but when I said that, she only got angry."

"Did she say why?" Sirius asked.

"She got angry again when I asked," Peter grumbled. "But after I pestered her awhile, she admitted she fancied another bloke."

James snorted. "She's not likely to have any luck with that. Come on, Wormtail, I'd hardly call her a catch. Besides, you can do better, anyway. How about you try to go out with Missy Bracknell? I heard she's into purebloods." That last part was a stretch but let it not be said that James didn't put every effort into comforting his friend.

"She's a little homely," Sirius added. "Isn't that right, Moony?"

Remus felt himself shaking with discomfort, so he said, "I've got to hurry to the library" before scurrying off to do just that in an attempt to escape this particular conversation with his friends. Unfortunately, when he got there, his situation only became more uncomfortable.

"You'd better not be here in an attempt to convince me to go to Hogsmeade with your friend," Edith warned as Remus nearly rammed right into her.

"N-never," he stuttered. "I was coming here to study for my N.E.W.T.s." He held up his book as proof.

"Oh, okay," she responded awkwardly, clearly embarrassed at having jumped to conclusions.

"He probably won't stop, though," Remus admitted. "He's surprisingly tenacious."

"He doesn't even know what the word tenacious means," she complained. "I'm sorry but your friend is a moron. Isn't he only taking one N.E.W.T. class because it's the only O.W.L. he managed to pass?"

"Correct on all three accounts. I'm sorry he's bothering you."

"I'm just hoping he gives up eventually. I also have a feeling his desire to go to Hogsmeade with me has less to do with appreciating me as a person and more to do with wanting to stick his cock in a willing recipient." Remus made a choking sound at her comment. "I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true."

"I'm afraid you're correct on that account, as well. I believe his interests lay in areas apart from your personality."

"I thought as much. It's been nice chatting with you, Remus," she informed him seriously. "And feel free to chat me up again, but keep your creepy friend away from me." She left him alone in the library then, and Remus believed he would have not a problem in the world with keeping Peter away from Edith.

* * *

Later that week, Edith was studying in bed when her friend Missy burst into the room. "There's a party with Firewhiskey in the Gryffindor common room!"

"How is this relevant to me? I'm studying for my Transfiguration N.E.W.T." Edith griped.

Missy gave her a knowing smirk. "Remus will be there. I have it on good authority you've fancied him since third year."

"Whose authority?"

"My own."

"He hasn't taken any notice of me in the last four years; what could possibly make tonight any different?"

"Come on, it can't hurt you to go."

"I beg to differ. I could be embarrassed in any number of ways – especially knowing me."

Missy rolled her eyes. "Edith, I don't know anyone who needs a good shag more than you. Ditch the glasses and come to the party." Missy flounced out of the room, frustrated with her boring friend, when Edith marked her place in her book. She could study at the party, right? And it's not as if she would be stuck there if she were to go. She could leave at any time, after all. There was a chance Remus would talk to her, too. He had talked with her not long ago at the library. So, with this in mind, Edith gathered all the gumption she could possibly muster and made her way to the Gryffindor common room where, maybe, if she was lucky, she would talk to Remus Lupin.

He and his friends had been drinking that night – him less so than them – and the Gryffindor common room had been filled with a number of people in their year besides Gryffindors. Edith did not like parties, Edith did not like people, and Edith did not like the Marauders – except for Remus. She sat quietly in the corner, curled up with her book, anxiously pushing her dark glasses up her nose, hoping she would not be noticed by anyone there. Admittedly, she partook in a little of the firewhiskey as well as she paged through her library book. It was near the end of term and, thankfully, she had been studying for her N.E.W.T.S. for months now and was satisfactorily prepared for the upcoming exams. However, thanks to the firewhiskey, she took a moment to notice a tall figure standing above her. When she looked up, she saw none other than Remus Lupin. Even if she didn't like the Marauders, she did have to admit they were all exceptionally handsome and Remus was most certainly no exception. Well, except Peter.

"Do you mind if I sit with you?" he asked. Edith shook her head quickly to tell him she didn't mind, trying to return her attention to the book she was reading but finding herself thoroughly distracted by her fellow seventh year sitting next to her. "Why aren't you enjoying the party? We'll be graduating soon, after all."

"A party isn't exactly how I would choose to spend my time. Missy convinced me to come somehow, when I should have just stayed in bed."

"It isn't really my thing, either," he admitted. "Far too many people for my liking." Her eyes traveled to his face and saw he was not only being sincere, but gathering the courage to say something even more scandalous. "We could leave, you know. Just you and me?" he stuttered out. Even with the liquid courage he was nervous. Interacting romantically with the opposite sex was not something Remus was good at.

"Just us?" she asked.

"Just us."

She pushed up her glasses again and set her book on the floor. "That sounds nice."

Remus quickly led to her one of Hogwarts' many unused classrooms where the firewhiskey in their systems began to hit full force – things said that may not otherwise have been uttered. "So Peter tells me you fancy someone. He's one lucky bloke."

Edith beamed. "He's brilliant. Both inside and out. I've never met someone who works as hard at their studies as him and I've never heard an unkind word come out of his mouth, though his friends are a different story. He's definitely not hard to look at, either."

Remus grimaced, never thinking in a million years she could be talking about him. "Like I said: one lucky bloke."

"It's you," she blurted out, hoping he would say something but was met with dead silence. "I'm sorry, you don't have to say anything," she stuttered quickly, standing up with every intent on running out of the room when he grabbed her hand and pulled her into a kiss.

"I'm sorry, I should have asked," he realized miserably as he pulled away, referring to the kiss.

"I'm afraid you'll have to bend down here if you want to kiss me again. You're quite a bit taller than me and I can't reach you all the way up there." Remus was surprised, but thrilled that Edith wanted to return the kiss.

Within half an hour, clothes were on the floor and Edith was about to take off her glasses, just as Missy had advised. "Leave them," Remus said gently. "They suit you and besides, don't you want to be able to see me when we do this? Not that you're not pretty without them, of course."

Edith nodded eagerly, leaving her glasses on and giving Remus a sweet kiss before they continued doing the deed. It all happened so fast but Edith remembered all of it vividly. Every single beautiful detail.

She had been stupid to think it actually meant anything.

As soon as the firewhiskey began to make its way out of their systems, Remus' eyes went wide as he scrambled to put his clothes on. "This was a mistake," he informed her, practically hysterical.

"What?" she asked, dejected.

"This can never happen again," he told her as he rushed out of the room, leaving her there naked and alone. What he didn't tell her was that he had fancied her for years, only just now gathering the courage to do anything about it, that he had enjoyed every single second they had spent together and that he thought she was the most amazing girl he had ever met. He even kept her book she had left safe and sound in his room, right next to his bed.

When Remus returned to the common room, the party had begun to die down but, much to his dismay, he ran into James and Sirius, who took in Remus' appearance – disheveled hair and clothing – and immediately understood what had occurred. "Moony finally shagged someone," James ascertained with a smirk.

"Way to go mate," Sirius told his friend emphatically. "So, who's the lucky girl?"

Remus shook his head and insisted on going to bed, almost getting away, when Peter approached the group. "Hey, Remus," he greeted his friend happily. "I saw you leave with Edith. Did you try to convince her to go to Hogsmeade with me?"

James and Sirius turned to Remus. "You didn't," they gasped simultaneously.

"You shagged Edith Hopper?" Sirius asked, accusation coloring his tone. "Remus, you could have shagged any girl but you choose to shag the girl Peter fancies."

Remus didn't try to defend himself. In his mind, shagging Edith was not only morally wrong because he was a werewolf and he had no business trying to become romantically involved with anyone, but also because he knew it would hurt Peter, despite the fact that the shortest Marauder had less than noble intentions with the spectacled girl and she held no interest in him. The shattered look on Peter's face was enough to make him feel guilty without the glares sent his way by Sirius and James. "I'm going to bed," he quietly informed them as he slipped up the staircase and did just that.

Meanwhile, in the Ravenclaw common room, Edith ran into Missy. "Naughty!" Missy exclaimed delightedly as they went to their room.

"I'm not in the mood, Missy." Edith had quickly gone from cloud nine to rock bottom as soon as Remus had run out of the room.

"How was it? Is Remus Lupin a Casanova?"

"Well, the sex itself wasn't great and didn't last very long, but I'd say the experience as a whole was nice until he left me there naked on the floor."

"He what?" Missy demanded, quickly becoming enraged.

"He told me it was a mistake and left," Edith sobbed. "It must have been awful for him or he doesn't like me or-"

"Remus Lupin is a prat for doing that to you. I ought to cut off his cock."

Edith shook her head. "I'm just going to try to talk to him, maybe see what happened. He looked so happy and not in a 'look at me I'm getting a good shag' kind of way but as if he cared about me and felt lucky I had given him a second glance. He never seemed like a one off kind of bloke."

"Whatever. He's still a complete tosser and you can do better."

* * *

For weeks afterward, Edith had tried desperately to stay in contact with Remus. She would smile at him as they passed each other in the halls, but he would quickly look away. She would begin to approach him at the library but he would gather his things and scurry off. Eventually, she stopped trying, realizing she wasn't getting anywhere. She tried to conjure something – anything – she had done wrong that night but could think of nothing.

Remus was alone in his bed one night, studying away, when Sirius strutted into the room and flopped into his own bed. "So, Moony, how long have you fancied Edith? Longer than Peter, I imagine." Remus started. "That's right. You see, James and I have been putting some things together and the best we can figure is you've fancied her nearly the entire time we've been here at Hogwarts. Am I wrong?"

"No," Remus admitted glumly.

"Then why didn't you say anything? Especially when Peter was going on about her knockers?"

"Because I don't have any right to fancy her. She doesn't deserve to be shunned because she had a one off with a werewolf."

"It didn't have to be a one off, mate."

"It would only have been worse if I had stuck around. What if she found out eventually and told the whole school? Trust me, I'm better off alone."

Sirius' face fell, realizing just how deep his friend's self-loathing went to believe he didn't deserve to find happiness with another person.

Edith herself had finally begun to heal her self-confidence after that night and was beginning to feel better, hoping her mood would improve in time for N.E.W.T.s. In fact, she was beginning to believe she could make it through the year.

That is, until the symptoms started becoming too obvious to ignore. The terrible nausea that followed her throughout the day – sometimes ending in vomiting – the fatigue, sometimes dizziness, sore breasts and a slowly expanding waistline told her that there was a memento from their night together. Memories from two months ago flooded her mind. That one, glorious night with Remus Lupin. A very unwelcome memento. At one time, she almost vomited during one of her N.E.W.T.S. and scrambled out of the test as soon as she could, barely making it to the lavatory. Now, she spent a lot of time in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, crying along with the miserable ghost. She was the sensible one, the practical one. These types of things weren't meant to happen to her. Yet it had happened. And now she had no choice but to tell Remus.


	2. Chapter 2

Edith approached Remus' friends one day outside the portrait entrance to their common room, figuring it was best to get her confession to Remus over with, already knowing his reaction would not likely be positive. "Ummm, do you guys think you could fetch Remus for me? I really need to speak with him."

They looked at her with pity, undoubtedly knowing what had transpired that night. "I'll go tell him," James offered, stepping through the portrait, thus beginning a few moments of awkward silence between Edith, Sirius and Peter. When James returned, his expression told her she would not like what he had to say. "I'm really sorry, Edith, he's just…"

All of them could hear cackling from down the hallway. "I think that Edith Hopper has gone bulimic! I see her vomiting in the lavatory all the time anymore."

"She definitely needs to do something. Have you noticed the weight she's gained?"

"I'd speculate she was pregnant, but who would want to shag that cow?"

"Excuse me," Edith whispered to Remus' friends before running away from them and the tittering girls down the hall. She decided to sit on the shore of the Black Lake and wallow in self-pity as she stared into its depths and contemplated their cold embrace in light of her current situation.

As the rest of the Marauders entered their living quarters, James and Sirius gave Remus similar glares. "You're a real ass, sometimes, Remus," Sirius accused his friend. "Anyone could tell that girl _likes_ you and wants to talk to you but you keep blowing her off. What the hell?"

"There's Peter's feelings to worry about and besides, she's better off without me," Remus moaned.

"Obviously not," said Lily, who had just entered the room. "You know there's rumors about her going bulimic? She hardly even eats anymore, but what she does it ends up in the toilet. You don't just shag a girl and leave her. Especially not Edith Hopper, you idiot."

"Why especially her?"

"Because she's never even kissed anyone before! Then suddenly this great bloke comes along and shags her only to leave right afterward telling her it was a mistake. How do you think she feels about herself right now?" Lily demanded.

"She doesn't need someone like me in her life," Remus said glumly.

"Somehow I don't think she would care that you're a werewolf," Lily huffed. Lily had managed to work out Remus' condition long before seventh year, but feigned surprise when the Marauders had told her only months before. "She's not shallow and she's not some bitch who believes in all that werewolf subjugation nonsense. Please, at least promise you'll talk to her?"

Remus shook his head and left the room for the library with a grinning Peter running after him. (Peter was delighted Remus had given up all efforts to be with Edith because, in his mind, this gave him more opportunity to pursue her himself. Of course, now the likelihood of that ever happening was lower than ever.)

Sirius was worried for Remus, though, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. If nothing else, a little reconnaissance never hurt anyone, so he made it his mission to persuade to talk to the somewhat frumpy girl.

* * *

Back at the Black Lake, Edith wrapped her arms around herself as a chilly spring breeze rippled across the water. Then, out of nowhere, a large, black dog came trotting up to her. She smiled in spite of herself. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" she asked as she began to pet him. "You're really cute, you know that?" This seemed to please the dog as it barked happily, tail wagging. The dog then snuggled up to her and looked her straight in the eyes, as if to ask why she was so upset. "I thought he was so nice," she told him as she choked back a sob. "He even called me pretty and no one has ever called me pretty. Why did he have to leave like that?" The dog looked on sympathetically. "I guess I just aimed too high, you know? I mean, after all, everyone adores the marauders – especially those dolts James and Sirius – and Remus is definitely attractive." The dog appeared offended. "Okay, so maybe they aren't stupid but they sure act like it sometimes. It doesn't matter, anyway. Remus, who I've fancied for four years now, still won't talk to me and I can't tell him I'm pregnant."

The dog lurched from its place next to her, as if it understood every word she said and gave her a wide eyed stare. "What?" she asked. "Now I'm getting judging looks from dogs, too. I should probably just walk straight into that lake and let the Grindylows drown me."

The dog growled as if it was very unhappy with that idea and it grabbed her robes in its mouth to begin dragging her back towards the school. She unhappily obliged, given the lack of choices available, but the dog ran from her as soon as she was back inside, leaving her alone yet again. She sighed. "Even the damn dog doesn't want to stick around for more than a few minutes."

* * *

"Prongs, mate, we've got an emergency situation." Sirius was gasping for air as he entered their living quarters, having run all the way there. "Where are Moony and Wormtail?"

"Still at the library," James answered absent-mindedly. "Why? What's so pressing that you have to interrupt my studying for our potions exam tomorrow? Need I remind you: I never study so I need to get what I can in while I can? Besides, I've never been good at potions."

"Moony got her pregnant, Prongs."

James immediately dropped his book. "What? How the hell would you know?"

"I followed her to the Black Lake, to keep an eye on her, make sure she wasn't going to do anything drastic – which she wanted to do, by the way – and she started talking to me because I was a dog. She started prattling on about how upset she was with him and then said she was pregnant! Hell, weren't those nasty girls earlier saying they would think she was pregnant if someone had shagged her? Well, Remus shagged her alright."

"Blimey, we've got to tell him. Because he's not going to talk to her, otherwise. And what do you mean by drastic?"

"She was talking about walking into the lake and letting the Grindylows have her."

"And you left her alone?!" James knew Sirius didn't always think things through, but this was bad even for Sirius.

Sirius huffed indignantly, seeing the conclusions James was jumping to. "No, I led her back to the school. But if we don't want to her to do anything like that we've got to get Remus to talk to her."

"Talk to who?" Remus and Peter stood in the doorway.

"Edith."

"No," Remus insisted as he began to make his way to his bed, unwilling to hear any other words on the matter.

"Would you be saying that if you knew she was pregnant?" James asked. Remus dropped his books just as James had earlier. "It's yours; I think you got that part, but I'll just remind you, anyway."

"What have I done? I've ruined her life!"

"Well, yeah," Sirius agreed. After all, by this point, Remus had done a great deal of emotional and mental damage to the poor girl and Sirius was not about to lie to his friend. "But you can make it right, mate. Just talk to her, tell her you'll be there for her, all that gooey shit."

"What if it's like me?" Remus whispered forlornly, beginning to contemplate every possible nightmare scenario he could conjure. "She must hate me already but she'll hate me even more if it's like me."

"You don't know that, Remus." James was attempting to be comforting but he could see Remus was going to panic no matter what the others said to him. "Just talk to her, mate. If you run away from this that makes you an absolute twat." Remus knew they were right, but he was beginning to hyperventilate, the edges of his vision blurring. "Come on, this could be a good thing, yeah?"

Remus imagined a normal life with Edith – one in which they happily raised their child together – then quickly shook all thoughts of that away since a life of that sort wasn't possible for him, or anyone in his life, given his condition. "Do you think she could ever forgive me – that she could love me even with my…furry little problem?"

"You'll never know until you ask," Sirius drawled. "I think you should hurry; she was talking earlier about feeding herself to the Grindylows."

"What?" He couldn't believe he had caused her that much hurt that she would even consider something so horrific. "Wait, how do you know that?"

Sirius grimaced. "I followed her to the black lake as a dog. She confided in me, not knowing who I was. Just go find her, Remus."

The young werewolf nodded, grabbing Edith's book from its place next to his bed and scurried out of the room, looking all over the castle for her: the library, the great hall, everywhere. When he got to the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room, he ran into Missy – Edith's friend. Her narrow eyes raked over him, a scathing look making its way onto her face. "Come to break her heart again, Lupin?"

"Please, Missy, I need to make this right. Is she in the common room?"

"No. She's hiding somewhere like she normally does, lately. You know she's hardly spoken a word to anyone since that night. She sleeps a lot more than she used to, as well."

"You have no idea where she could be?"

"None. And I suggest you leave her alone. You've done enough damage."

Remus shook his head defiantly and left Missy with a heavy heart, feeling quite panicked. Not just because of the prospect of potential impending fatherhood but because now he wondered if Edith had made good on her hope to drown in the Black Lake. How could he have been so stupid as to think he should leave her that night? Deciding he likely wasn't going to find her for the night, he decided to head to the kitchens and get his favorite comfort food from the house elves: chocolate.

When he entered, he quickly discovered his search was over. Sitting at a small table in the corner was Edith munching on, of all things, chocolate. "Thank Merlin you're alright," he cried, running over to the table.

She looked up in shock, clearly not having expected to share her evening with anyone, nevertheless Remus Lupin. "What?"

"I was so worried," he tried to explain before realizing he was getting ahead of himself. "Can I, uh, can I sit with you?" When she nodded slowly, he sat down to be attended to by the house elves. "I'll have what she's having." Within moments, he had a sizeable plate of chocolate in front of him. "I have your book," he babbled quickly, handing her the book from the party.

She slowly took the book from him and tucked it in her lap. "Remus," she stuttered quietly. "We need to talk about something."

"I know you're pregnant."

Her brown eyes grew wide. "What? How?"

"Does it matter?"

She looked miserably down at her chocolate. "I suppose not," she sighed as she took another bite.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm too nauseous during the day to eat much so I come here to get a little extra food when it passes. I'm sorry, Remus. I know you don't want anything to do with me - "

"You're wrong. I want everything to do with you. Don't be sorry. After all, it takes two, right? I'm the one who should be apologizing, after all. What I did to you was inexcusable. But you need to know I didn't leave you that night because I don't have feelings for you. I've fancied you for a long time, Edith. I just don't deserve someone like you."

"Why would you say that? You've always seemed like such a nice bloke and you're ridiculously intelligent plus you're certainly not difficult to look at," she admitted, blushing as she said so. "Please, Remus, I have to know why you left."

"I should have told you this before we were together," he mumbled, looking at his feet in shame. "I understand if you hate me, especially after I tell you this, and if you don't want me involved with the baby that's okay, too." He closed his eyes, unable to look at her face as he said it and cringed. "I'm a werewolf."

He heard her stand up out of the chair and he assumed she was walking away, disgusted with him. But instead, he felt her fingers tracing the scars on his face. "So that's where these are from?" He nodded, expecting rejection. Instead, her arms wrapped around him. "I'm sorry that happened to you."

"You don't hate me? You're not appalled by me?"

She shook her head and lifted her glasses to wipe tears from her eyes. "I assumed so many horrible things about you. I thought you were so cruel and instead, you thought _I_ would be disgusted by _you._ Remus, I never thought you would think so little of yourself. Can we try this all again? I want a chance to be with you and make it work with the baby."

"You want me involved?" He was absolutely stunned.

"Of course. You're the father. I know this isn't a perfect situation but would you please at least consider it?"

"I'll try so hard not to screw up this second chance up, Edith," he vowed.

"I just want you to make me one promise."

"Anything."

"Don't ever doubt yourself like that again." He nodded, shocked at having received such acceptance from her.

"Can I kiss you?" he asked, seeking permission this time rather than simply going for it.

She gave a small, shy smile. "If you want to."

"I want to," he assured her. "Who wouldn't want to kiss such a beautiful girl?" After a few minutes of kissing he laughed a little. "Your glasses." They had practically slipped off her face. "Here, let me." He took either end of the frames and gently pushed them up. "It's getting late. You should probably get some sleep."

She nodded. "Do you have any exams tomorrow?"

"Just one in the afternoon."

"Do you, uh, want to have breakfast together?"

"Yes," he said quickly. "I want to have breakfast with you every morning for a long time."

"Then I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"I'll walk with you back to your common room."

As they walked, she nervously tried to slip her hand into his, hoping he would accept it. Surprisingly, he did.


End file.
